


I'll Be Home

by sosa0



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Holidays, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 08:06:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21960079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sosa0/pseuds/sosa0
Summary: Gabe is ecstatic to spend the whole week of the holiday break with Jack, but after waking up and finding out that he's at a meeting, Gabe realizes that he's going to be alone for the day. To pass the time, Gabe, with the help of Jesse, prepares the perfect surprise for Jack when he gets back. Meanwhile, Jack has a surprise of his own.
Relationships: Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Comments: 7
Kudos: 27





	I'll Be Home

Gabe slowly opened his eyes to the blinding light pouring through his window. _Shit_ , he thought, _What time is it?_ He collected himself out of bed and looked at his phone; nearly 10:30 AM. A message from Jack caught his eye:

**hey babe i'll probably be gone when u see this. im at a meeting with some UN people. be back tonight hopefully. and get some rest will u?**

Gabe let out a sigh of disappointment. It looks like he would be spending the first day of his holiday break alone in the unusually quiet and empty halls of HQ. No one for him to bark orders at, no rookies for him to scare, and no Jack for him to talk to and kiss. _Tonight…_ Gabe thought, _Guess I gotta do something until then._

He walked to the kitchen of his suite, took out k-cup from a box, and put it in the slot. Gabe's thoughts wandered aimlessly as he waited for his coffee to brew, wondering what it would be like to be Jack. He couldn't imagine how exhausting it must be going to so many photoshoots, interviews, and meetings with powerful people. _Famous, huh_ , Gabe thought. _I can't be famous... They can't even know I really exist._ Gabe wouldn't ever trade his life for Jack's. Being #2 wasn't so bad. Hell, Gabe was happy that he was second-in-command. He felt free and got to run Blackwatch the way he liked, and Jack never questioned it. Jack would just give a target, and Gabe would make it disappear. _And I'm pretty damn good at it_ , Gabe thought.

The coffee machine beeped multiple times, snapping Gabe out of his thoughts. He got up from the sofa and opened the cupboard. Gabe's favorite mug greeted him in front of all of the other cups in the cabinet. "#1 Dad" It read, never failing to give him a little chuckle. He poured the pot of coffee into the mug, added an amount of creamer that Jack thought was "too much" and plopped back into the sofa. 

Gabe watched the window as the snowflakes drifted by, entrancing him as he sipped his coffee. _Winter_ , he thought. Gabe missed the holidays with all his friends and family. It seemed that everyone in Overwatch was out with their own family celebrating the holidays, while he and a few other agents were stuck in this place, on standby in case of an emergency.

Gabe took a sip out of the nearly-empty mug of coffee, then it struck him. _Jack loves Christmas_ , he thought, _what if I brought Christmas here, just like old times?_ Gabe smiled at his genius idea. Imagine his face when he sees the place lit up with lights and decorations. Hmm… but decorations. Where would those be? Gabe remembered the one place worth a shot looking in: the storage center. He gulped down the last of the coffee in the mug and headed into the hallways in pajamas.

Gabe walked down the hallway of the living quarters, catching glares and stifled laughter from agents on standby mingling in the hallways. Nearing the end of the hall, he pressed a button on the elevator. He stepped inside and pressed the button labeled "B." Walking into the halls to the basement, it seemed as if there was more going on down there. Music echoed from rooms; laughter could occasionally be heard too, along with yelling coming from agents sparring in the training rooms. 

He finally reached the entrance to the storage center and placed his index finger onto the scanner to the right of the thick blue metal door. The doors slid open to the vast rows of lockers and storage units that sprawled the spacious room. Where to start… Gabe wondered. He made his way towards the back rows sorted by the agents' last names. Gabe reached the middle of the R-row and found his storage unit, massive in comparison to everyone else's, except Jack's. _God_ , he thought, _I haven't been here in ages_. The door to the unit swung open with a creak, and a single light illuminated the closet-sized storage unit of old boxes and possessions that Gabe never bothered to look back at.

Stacks of plastic tubs piled up to the ceiling of the unit, thankfully, labeled with laminated paper taped to the tubs. He shuffled through the stacks of boxes and bins until he found two containers labeled "Xmas." A smug grin formed on Gabe's face. He felt accomplished with his task. He grabbed the tubs and left the storage center, walking at a brisk pace back to Jack's suite.

"Howdy, Gabe," a voice called from behind him.

It was Jesse.

Gabe turned around, tubs still stacked on each other in his hands. The cowboy tipped his brown hat. Gabe let out a small sigh.

"Whatcha got there?" Jesse asked.

"Some boxes," Gabe replied.

Jesse whistled, "Ooh, a smart one over here."

Gabe rolled his eyes.

"Whatcha got in the boxes?" 

"Y'know kid, you're really lucky I like you." Gabe dropped the tubs to the ground. "C' mere, look."

Gabe took the lid off one of the bins; rolls of Christmas lights, table decorations, and ornaments lined the container. A faint scent of peppermint and cinnamon radiated from the bins.

"Christmas stuff?" Jesse asked. "What for? Not like we've celebrated it here anyways."

"I was feeling a little bored. The snow got me in the mood to give my place some holiday spirit."

"Your place? You mean, Jack's?"

"Whatever, our place."

Jesse giggled. "Aww, ya little lovebirds."

Gabe cleared his throat and said in a low, menacing voice, "Listen, tell anyone else about this, and I swear to god…"

Jesse chuckled, "Y'remember our deal, right?" He half-pulled out a carton of cigars from his pocket and pointed to them. "As long as I have these, you have my word."

Gabe sighed, defeated, "Kid, that shit's gonna kill you one day."

"Somethin's gonna kill me one day, probably won't be the cigars."

"What a lovely day that will be."

Jesse laughed. "Oh Gabe, I think we both know when that day comes, you'll cry like a little baby bird begging for his mama."

"Well, then you better pray that those damn cigars don't get you first."

The cowboy let out a chortle. Gabe laughed silently, grinning at his young protégé.

"I'd love to insult you some more, but these decorations ain't gonna decorate themselves, and I wanna surprise Jack when he gets back from whatever meeting he's at. I'll talk to you later, Jesse, enjoy your vacation."

Gabe threw an imitation of Jesse's classic finger guns towards him and winked a farewell. He picked up the tubs of decorations, all stacked on each other, and walked down the hallway towards the elevator. To him, the whole thing felt light as a feather thanks to whatever chemicals they injected him with during his younger days at the SEP with Jack.

Jesse caught up to Gabe, slowing his pace down when he got right next to him.

"What is it now, Jesse? You need anything?" Gabe asked, slightly annoyed.

"Well, I see you're taking this whole task by yourself, and I got nothing better else to do today. I suppose you wouldn't mind having some help in setting those up, would ya?”

Gabe was surprised. He didn't think of Jesse would ever offer to do such a thing, even less for something related to his personal relationship.

"Sure," Gabe replied, "Could always use some extra help, and I wouldn't mind the company either."

  
  
  


Gabe unlocked the door to Jack's suite using his fingerprint, and it gave an assuring click. He followed Jesse inside, set the bins down on the floor, and took the lids off each of them.

Jesse looked around the flat and whistled in amazement, "Wow, this is quite the place y'all got for yourselves, not gonna lie."

Gabe smiled. "Oh yeah?"

"Mhmm, I can see why you went after him now."

Gabe laughed. "I guess that's one benefit of dating him. He's always so extra with everything."

Jesse sat down on the sofa, shuffling through the magazines on the glass coffee table that featured the Strike Commander himself on the covers, each with a different outrageous pose and outfit.

"What a dork," Jesse murmured. 

Gabe chuckled. "God, I'll say."

"Here, catch," Gabe threw a roll of lights to Jesse, who effortlessly grabbed it out of the air with one hand.

"Well?" Jesse asked.

Gabe grinned. "Let's get to work."

The two of them strung up lights near where the wall meets the ceiling all around the apartment, giving the rooms a glow of white, red, and green. McCree decorated the plants and greenery with lights, stringing them into a spiral in a miniature desk tree. Gabe put a wreath on the outside of the door to the suite; surely Jack wouldn't expect something like that. 

In the midst of Gabe’s decorating, something must’ve struck Jesse’s mind.

"Be right back," he said, making his way towards the door.

"Wait! Where you going?" Gabe called.

"You'll see!" Jesse called back, already outside.

When he returned nearly an hour later, Jesse came back with boxes of candy canes held underneath his arm, Santa hats in his right hand, and one on his head.

"Hmm, I see you've been busy. Where were you?" Gabe asked.

Jesse grinned. "S'not Christmas without candy canes. Oh, and these." Jesse extended his hand holding that hats to Gabe. "Here, take one."

Gabe took the hat and placed it on his nearly-bald head, content with the way it fit. Hell, Gabe thought it looked pretty good on him.

"I also got one for Mr. Morrison, so y'all two can be matching. Thought it'd be cute."

Gabe smiled, _this kid ain't half bad at all_ , he thought.

He put his hand on Jesse's shoulder. "Well, uh, thank you, Jesse. How very thoughtful of you,"

Jesse laughed, "Aw Gabe, it's nothin', really."

Gabe was enjoying the moment when suddenly, he remembered something. 

The tree.

"Hey, what do you say we set up the tree now?"

Jesse made a confused look on his face. "Tree? How you gonna get a tree up here, Gabe?"

Gabe raised his finger up with a mischievous grin on his face. "We already have the tree up here, look."

He pulled a cardboard box out of one of the tubs that took up nearly all of the available space in it. The box had a picture of a tree with a barcode on the bottom of the label.

"You gotta be kiddin' me," McCree said. "A fake tree? Really?"

"Well, yeah!" Gabe said defensively. "Like you said," He cleared his throat, "'How you gonna get an actual tree up here?'", he said, mocking Jesse. "What, you want me to go and chop one down myself and bring it up here, huh? National Lampoon?" Gabe retorted.

Jesse put his face in his hands and sighed.

"Y'know, you can buy an actual tree from somewhere that sells it, not some dinky Walmart clearance tree. Hell, I'd be surprised if that thing even stands up on its own anymore," said Jesse.

"Well," said Gabe, opening the box, "Only one way to find out."

Gabe pulled the tree out, expanding in size as it got pulled out further until it was free from the box and the branches poked his face. Gabe shook the box, and a stand for the tree dropped to the floor with a thud.

"Hah! There we go!" exclaimed Gabe.

"Well, I'll be damned…" murmured Jesse.

"Here, I'll hold the tree, and you screw on the stand."

Jesse did as instructed, and much to his surprise, the tree stood on its own. It didn't look half bad either.

"Shit, we gonna decorate this thing?"

Gabe picked up a tub and put it on the floor in front of them. He grinned. "You bet."

Gabe strung lights throughout the tree while Jesse put ornaments on it, lighting up the corner of the living room and further adding to the Christmas spirit to the apartment. Gabe finished stringing the lights and got a look at the tree from a distance while Jesse put the finishing touches on the ornaments. Jesse finally hung the last ornament on the tree and stood next to Gabe, hands on his hips.

Gabe exhaled. "Looks like we're done with that." He turned to Jesse. "Jack's gonna freak out when he sees it, am I right?"

Jesse chuckled. "Aren'tcha forgetting somethin'?"

"Hmm? What's that?"

Jesse crouched down and pulled a plastic star from the bin, handing it to Gabe.

"This," Jesse said.

"Ah! I knew something didn't look right." Gabe handed the star back to Jesse, "You wanna do the honors?"

"Y'know, I might as well."

Jesse placed the golden star on the top of the tree, completing the tree just like icing on a cake.

"Now that, is a real tree," said Gabe, impressed with the results.

"You damn right it is," replied Jesse.

  
  


Gabe made both him and Jesse hot cocoa with marshmallows and chocolate syrup as a token of his gratitude for Jesse's company. After they finished their drinks and chatted for a bit, Jesse bid Gabe farewell. He grabbed his cowboy hat and said goodbye, shooting finger guns at him. Gabe was once again alone, so he laid down on the sofa, put ESPN on the TV, and drifted asleep as the sky outside darkened.

"Hey," A voice whispered to him. A hand tugged lightly on his shoulder. 

It was from Jack.

Gabe grumbled and shifted himself into a sitting position. He yawned, and his eyes widened. 

Jack noticed Gabe's hat and laughed, "You're certainly in the Christmas spirit."

"Oh, Jack," Gabe said quietly. He put his arms around him and buried his face into him. "I've missed you."

Jack embraced him and padded his back. "I've missed you too. Even if it's only been just the day," he said.

Gabe kissed Jack's cheek, and they parted.

"How was your meeting? Did everything go well?" Gabe asked.

Jack chuckled, "It went great, I'll tell you about it in a bit. But, wow Gabe, the whole apartment looks great. Did you do all of this?"

"I had a little bit of help. Jesse was kind enough to lend a hand in setting up some of the decorations.”

"Really? Him? Never thought of him as the type that would do that."

"You don't give him enough credit, Jack. The kid's got a good heart, and he helped me out with all this just so you'd be happy."

"Maybe the kid ain't so bad after all."

"Ohhhh, Jack, stubborn as always."

Jack laughed, "Yet you can't go a damn day without me."

Gabe smirked. "Never said it was a bad thing."

Jack stood up and walked over to the table where a bag rested on the floor, then sat back next to Gabe.

"I got you something while I was gone, a little Christmas gift from me to you," Jack said.

He pulled out two thin red boxes out of the bag and handed one to Gabe.

"Open it," Jack said, grinning.

Gabe took off the lid to the box, and a glaring, red yarn sweater lay plump inside the box, adorned with white and green accents of wreaths, candy canes, and snowflakes.

"Wow Jack, this is really ni-"

"Put it on! I wanna see how it looks on you," Jack ordered, barely containing his excitement.

Gabe took off the Santa hat, revealing his messy brown hair that he often hid with beanies, and pulled the sweater over his white t-shirt.

Gabe pointed to himself. "How do I look?"

"You look amazing, honey," Jack said. "How about you put that hat back on though, it's cute."

Gabe put the hat back on, the red color of it matching the sweater. "How about now?"

"Oh my god Gabe, you should see yourself in the mirror," Jack said.

"Hmm, wait," 

Gabe took out his phone and opened the camera and saw what Jack was talking about. He laughed, flustered with the embarrassment of the way he looked.

"I look so ridiculous, Jack,"

"Oh, you most certainly do. That's why I made one for me too," Jack said.

"Wait, you made these?"

"Mmhmm."

"You?" Gabe asked. "I thought you didn't knit?"

"I've been taking some lessons from Ana. What do you think those weekly meetings have been for, Gabe?"

"So, that's where you've been?" Gabe asked, dumbfounded.

"Yep."

"And what about today? That too?"

Jack laughed, "Yeah, I had some help from her with finishing yours today."

"Oh, Jack… I don't even know what to say."

"How about 'I love you'?"

Gabe smiled. “You know that doesn’t need to be said.”

He ran his hands through Jack's golden hair and pulled him in for a kiss. Gabe craved Jack's mouth and took him by surprise with his burning passion. Jack let out a little grunt and they both fell on the couch with Gabe lying on top of Jack, his arms wrapped around him. There was nothing else he wanted than to be with him. They continued to make out on the couch until Gabe wore off Jack, who parted away and caught his breath, though Gabe wanted to resume it later in bed.

Gabe sat back up, and Jack followed.

"Damn… I've missed that," Gabe said.

"You caught me off guard there," Jack said, "if only you could kiss like that every time."

Gabe pushed Jack's shoulder and chuckled, "Oh shut up, grandma, don't you have your ugly sweater to show me?"

"How rude of you. At least say please," Jack said.

Gabe rolled his eyes and laughed. Jack opened the other red box, and a green and black knitted sweater sat in it. Jack handed it to Gabe and let him look at it before getting it back and putting it over his own shirt.

"How does this look?" asked Jack.

"Hmmm…" Gabe said, stroking his beard, "It's missing something."

"Huh?"

"Hold on, lemme grab it,"

Gabe walked over to the bins, stacked on each other, and grabbed the Santa hat on top of them. Jack reached out to grab the hat when Gabe walked back, but Gabe quickly darted it away from his hand and placed it on his head, pressing down on his blonde hair and messing it up.

“Hey! I spent almost half an hour doing my hair today!” said Jack.

“So?” said Gabe, “You were gonna put the hat on anyways.”

“Not in the way you did it!”

Gabe kissed the side of Jack’s head where the hat met his mint-scented hair.

“Huh, even your hair smells preppy,” said Gabe.

“Was hoping you’d notice,” Jack said.

He kissed Gabe’s cheeks right where his scars were. _Damn,_ Gabe thought, _he always knows my weak spots_.

Gabe laughed, “Whatever you say, boyscout.”

The two of them sat there on the sofa for a few moments, Jack’s head on Gabe’s shoulder, savoring his warmth.

Eventually, Jack broke the silence.

“How about I make a fire?” he said, taking off in the direction of the fireplace underneath the TV.

“How about I make the fire, and you make cookies?” said Gabe.

Jack raised an eyebrow.

Gabe blushed. “Well, you always make them the best,” he said.

Jack chuckled. “Alright, fine, I’ll make the cookies,” he said, and made his way towards the kitchen.

“Ooh, can I lick the spoon?”

Jack smiled. “You already know the answer.”

**Author's Note:**

> merry christmas and happy holidays to everyone! :3
> 
> follow me on twitter too! (https://twitter.com/meatycowboy)


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